Slocutionaty 
Manual 



TONE COLORS 



Alee Gustine-Coots 




J^l/cc ^y^d/tnty- {Ootddt 



Elocutionary 

Manual 



Tone Colors 



jVJ 



BY 

Hlce <Su6ttne*Coots 

^eaG^ei 3 , l^eoitalist ar|S Ifseetnrer. 



" Many have genius, but wanting art, 
Are forever dumb." 

H. W. Longfellow. 






TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 

Library of Conjr««% 
Offlco of th. 

NOV 1 7 1&W 

Re&Utor of Copyrlgotfc 



49451 

Copyright, 

By Alce Gustine-Coots. 

1899. 



SECOND COPY, 



PREFACE. 

This manual has been prepared by the author for her own 
use, and for the use of other teachers and students feeling 
the need of such a book of instruction. 

It contains sixty selections for practice from forty-five 
authors, with practical definitions that will enable the student 
to study and cultivate Tone Colors without the aid of a 
Teacher. No written instructions, however, can equal the 
illustrations of the teacher who understands how to impart 
the true knowledge of the Art of Expression. 

Alce Gustine- Coots. 



5 

44 Art is long, and Time is fleeting/' 

Longfellow. 

IRTR0DWeTI0R 

TONE COLORING. 

Tone Coloring is the kind, quality, shade or coloring of 
voice with which you paint your word pictures ; the variety 
with which you represent your characters ; the true art 
that enables you to present to your hearers the truth as 
you yourself see it. 

Tone colors are the distinct qualities of voice, used to ex- 
press the different sentiments and emotions, separately ana- 
lized. From these given tone colors many others may be 
formed by mixing and shading one tone with another, or by 
combining several. A knowledge of tone coloring is essen- 
tial to artistic delivery. It is the necessary property of the 
successful orator, the finished actor, the artistic reader and 
reciter. 

By tone coloring you can express all human perceptions 
and desires, all that the mind can conceive, all that the 
heart can feel, and all that the soul can endure. You can 
welcome or warn, attract or repel, mourn or mock, excite 
or soothe, sympathize or threaten, flatter or denounce, beg 
or command ; you can express the saddest grief, the sweetest 
joy, the truest love, the deepest passion. Trust not to in- 
stinct and emotion, but be guided by accurate knowledge, 
good judgment, and right conception. Thus you can more 
readily express the sentiments you believe, the emotions 
you feel. A knowledge and use of the colors of the voice 
are as necessary to the speaking artist, as a knowledge of 
paints and handling of brush are to the artist painter. 

Every student of expression should practice on tone 
colors until they are thoroughly mastered. Much drill on 
them will well repay the time thus spent, they are of great 
help in effective delivery. Train the vocal organs to obey 
you so you can produce any tone color at will. Then learn 
to shade and blend, and mix your color tones so as to ap- 
ply them to represent every phase of truth and feeling, and 



all scenes and characters by word painting. Tone coloring 
is more potent in transmitting emotion to your hearers than 
the language it clothes. Words are but the frame- work on 
which to hang the colors of the voice. 

Changes in tone are more or less due to the varied men- 
tal and physical conditions of the human mind and body. 
The tone color should correspond with the sentiment, scene, 
or character you would portray. Thus light, joyous, spark- 
ling emotions should be expressed by corresponding light 
.tone colors; and painful, tragic scenes and passions by 
somber, dark and heavy tones. 

Tone colors give vitality to thought and constitute the 
chief factors in eloquent expression. The speaker who 
would effectively impress his hearers by the thoughts and 
sentiments arising in the human mind, the truths and emo- 
tions that move the human heart, the fire and passion that 
inspire the human soul, must learn to paint his words in 
tones of living light, that they may glow and sparkle, awe 
and thrill with truth and life ; and this is the especial prov- 
ince of Tone Coloring in expression. 

Alce Gustine- Coots. 



"The tone of human voice is mightier than strings or brass to move 
the soul/' 

Klopstock. 

TONE AND SPEECH ORGANS* 

The cultivated human voice is music produced by the 
most wonderful of all instruments, and its origin and mech- 
anism are divine. 

The different parts of this great instrument are : — 
The Diaphragm, Thorax. Lungs, Trachea, Larynx, 
Pharynx, Nostrils, Nasal Chamber, Mouth Cavity, Palate, 
Uvula, Tongue, Teeth, Lower Jaw and Lips. 

BRIEF DEFINITION OF THE TONE AND 
SPEECH ORGANS, 

The Diaphragm is the partition separating the interior 
of the chest from the interior of the abdomen. It serves 
as the floor of the former and the roof of the latter. 

The Thorax is the cavity of the chest and the chest 
muscles. 

The Lungs are the air sacks and act as bellows for sup- 
plying the air for respiration and vocalization. 

The Trachea is the windpipe, the tube through which the 
air passes from the lungs into the larynx. 

The Larynx is the projection in the throat commonly 
known as " Adam's Apple." It contains the vocal cords and 
is the direct organ of vocal sound, thus it may very proper- 
ly be called the " music-box " of the voice. 

The Vocal Cords are elastic bands which vibrate and 
change position when the air from the lungs passes into the 
larynx, thus producing variety in tone, and the amplitude 
of the vibrations determine the loudness of the tone. 

The Pharynx is the gullet, or passage behind the larynx 
and uvula, extending upward to the nasal chamber. Its 
size determines the roundness and richness of the voice. 

The Nostrils are the passages extending from the exter- 
nal orifices of the nose to the nasal chamber. They are 
the proper air inhalers through which all air should pass to 
the lungs. 



The Nasal Chamber is the cavity back of the nostrils, 
opening into the pharynx. It contains a spongy substance 
which serves as air filterer, moderating and sifting the air 
on its way to the lungs. 

The Mouth Cavity embraces the whole interior of the 
mouth from the lips to the pharynx. Its form and shape 
mould and determine the timbre of the tone. 

The Mouth Roof extends from the upper front teeth to 
the uvula, embracing the hard and soft palate and the uvula. 

The Hard Palate extends from the upper front teeth to 
the centre of the mouth-roof. 

The Soft Palate extends from the centre of the mouth- 
roof to the uvula. 

The Uvula is the veil, or pendant portion of the palate, 
separating the mouth cavity from the pharynx and the na- 
sal chamber. 

The Tongue, Teeth, Lower Jaw and Lips act directly up- 
on the sound waves, modifying them so as to produce vow- 
els and consonants. Their healthy condition and right ac- 
tion are necessary to give clearness and distinctness to 
speech. 

Note. — The student is reminded that his success and progress in 
Tone Coloring depend largely upon the cultivation of all the organs 
employed in the production of tone, although a knowledge of their 
anatomy is not strictly essential to good vocal expression. 



Practice makes the artist, 

A. G.-C. 

Stcmbarb (Lone Colors. 

The Standard Tone Colors are : The Pure, Whisper, 
Aspirate, Plaintive, Orotund, Guttural, Pectoral and Fal- 
setto. 

PURE TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Pure Tone Color is the perfect natural voice quality. It 
should be clear, smooth and musical, free from all huskiness, 
harshness or impurity of any kind. 

REMARKS. 

To produce it the tone organs must be in a state of 
health, correctly managed, and all the breath used con- 
verted into sound. The natural tone (so called), is fre- 
quently rendered impure by bad training, bad habits, or a 
diseased condition of the voice producing organs. Pure 
tone can be acquired by most people, and all impure voices 
greatly improved by proper training. 

Cultivate a smooth, agreeable, pure tone quality ; it is 
an " excellent thing" in man or woman, and is the most 
important of all the ton*e colors, as it is the principle tone 
used in vocal expression. 

EXAMPLES OF PURE TONE. 

Take for examples the sweet singing of the birds, the 
ringing of silver bells, the tinkling of rippling 7vater, the 
merry ring of children 's laughter, etc. 

RESONANCE. 

The resonance is in the central part of the mouth-roof. 

Note. — In Elocution the term " resonance " denotes the place 
which appears to act as the direct sounding-board for the tone pro- 
duced. It is the distinctive characteristic of Tone Color. 



10 



WHEN USED. 



Pure Tone forms the basis of common conversation, sim- 
ple narrative, ordinary discourse, descriptive thought; and 
should be used to express all bright, joyous, happy emotions, 
etc. 

TO TEST PURE TONE. 

Test Pure Tone by holding the hand in front of the lips 
at a distance of about three inches, and utter in your natu- 
ral pitch, the sound of d-d, prolonged. If any air is felt to 
strike the hand it is not pure- tone. Use less breath and 
try again until no breath is felt to reach the hand, as in a 
pure tone it should be vocalized as soon as it leaves the 
lips. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Practice, in the same way, on all the long vowel sounds 
a e I o u, using only natural pitch and ordinary force. 
Read or talk with the hand in this position until you can 
readily strike the " key-note," and become familiar with 
the character of your own Pure Tone. 

Examples for Practice: 
PURE TONE. 

Medium. 

[elocution.] 

For everyday practical usefulness, there is no other ac- 
complishment that can be compared to good reading and 
speaking. No other art so greatly improves the mind and 
body, and gives such general culture as the study of Elocu- 
tion. 

A cultivated voice is as charming in speech as in song. 
And, while few can ever hope to acquire sufficient excel- 
lence to please the public as singers, many, by right study 
and practice, can succeed as public speakers and reciters ; 
and the opportunities are ten to one in their favor. 



Also, not only is the study of Elocution beneficial to every 
one, but I hold it to be the duty of all, who endeavor to 
instruct or amuse the public by speech, to understand the 
Art of Expression. 

Alce Gustine- Coots. 



[From "Hamlets Instruction to the Players." — " Ham- 
let."] 

Hamlet. — Speak the speech, I pray you as I pronounced 
it to you, — trippingly on the tongue ; but if you mouth it, 
as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-cryer 
spoke my lines. 

Willia in Shake spea re, 

\_From — " The Brook."] 

I come from haunts of coot and hern, 

I make a sudden sally, 
And sparkle out among the fern, 

To bicker down a valley. 

Alfred Tennyson. 

[" The Bobolink" From—" Wolfert's Roost."] 

Of all the birds of our groves and meadows, the bobolink 
was the envy of my boyhood. He crossed my path in the 
sweetest weather, and the sweetest season of the year, when 
all nature called to the fields, and the rural feeling throbbed 
in every bosom; but when I, luckless urchin ! was doomed 
to be mewed up, during the livelong day, in a school-room. 
It seemed as if the little varlet mocked at me as he flew 
by in full song, and sought to taunt me with his happier lot. 

Washington Irving. 



Spirited. 

[From the Play— "The Wife."] 
Lenardo to Lorenzo : — 

I am a boy again ! The days come back 

When smallest things made wealth of happiness 

And ever were at hand ! when I did watch 

With panting heart the striking of the clock, 

Which hardly sounded ere the book was shut. 

Then for the race — the leap— the game ! Oh, Signor, 

The vigor and endurance of such joy ! 

Is't e'er to come again ! And care so light, 

That, looking back, you smile you thought it care, 

And call it part of pleasure. 

James Sheridan Knowles* 

Z,oud. 

\From — " Edinburg After Flodden."] 

News of battle ! — news of battle ! 

Hark ! 'tis ringing down the street ; 
And the archways and the pavement 

Bear the clang of hurrying feet. 

News of battle ! who hath brought it? 

All are thronging to the gate ; 
" Warder — warder ! open quickly ! 

Man is this a time to wait. 

William Edmondstoune Aytoun* 

[From — -" Lochinvar's Ride."] 

O young Lochinvar is come out of the West ! 
Through all the wide border his steed was the best ; 
And save his good broadsword, he weapon had none ; 
He rode all unarmed and he rode all alone. 



13 

So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, 
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. 

Sir Walter Scott. 

[From " Boy Brixton."] 

See, Boy Britton, see, boy, see ! 
They strike ! hurrah ! the fort has surrendered ! 
Shout ! shout, my warrior boy ! 
And wave your cap, and clap your hands with joy ! 
Cheer answer cheer, and bear the cheer about — 
Hurrah ! Hurrah ! 

Wilson. 



whisper tone color. 

DEFINITION. 

Whisper Tone Color is articulated breath, unvocalized. 

remarks. 

Practice on this tone color should be frequent but not 
long continued, as it has a tendency to stop the flow of sa- 
liva and cause dryness of the throat. It is, however, inval- 
uable as an exercise for clearing the voice and improving 
the articulation. 

RESEMBLANCE. 

The sound produced by the Whisper resembles the hiss- 
ing of steam, the rustling of leaves, the whispering of the 

winds, the sighing of the breeze in the pine tires, the distant 
sobbing of the sea, the murmur of a sea shell when applied 
to the ear, etc. 

WHEN USED. 

The unmixed Whisper is little used in public reading or 
speaking. In expression its province is the same as the 
Aspirate, but usually in a lesser degree. 



H 



HOW ACQUIRED. 



Practice on this tone color until you can whisper so as to 
be easily heard in a large hall. 

Examples for Practice : 

WHISPER. 
I<ow. 

[From — " The Dying Christian to his Soul."] 
Hark! they whisper ; Angels say, 
" Sister spirit, come away." 

Alexander Pope. 

Medium. 

[From — " Lucile."] 
A whisper serene 

Slid softer than silence, 
A soft voice says — " Sleep ! " 

And he sleeps : he is sleeping. 

Owen Meredith. 
Sh — ! make no noise or they'll hear us. 

Orig. 

JLfOud. 

[From — "Lochinvar's Ride."] 

And the bridemaidens whispered, " 'Twere better, by far. 
To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar." 

Scott. 

[From "The Battle of Waterloo."] 
While thronged the citizens with terror dumb, 

Or whispering with white lips, 
" The foe I — they come — they come!" 

Lord Byron. 



15 

ASPIRATE TONE COLOR. 



DEFINITION. 



Aspirate Tone Color is a husky, hoarse, impure tone ; a- 
compound of whisper and vocalized sound. 



REMARKS. 



Practice on this tone color will greatly strengthen the 
tone and speech organs. 



RESEMBLANCE. 



It resembles a hoarse whisper ; it has the cloudy, husky 
quality of voice of a person having a severe cold called 
hoarseness, or loss of voice. 

WHEN USED. 

Aspirate Tone Color is used in the expression of secrecy,, 
mystery, caution, suspense, exhaustion, astonishment, sup- 
pressed fear, weakness, expiring life, hoarseness, stage 
whisper, etc. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Practice the exercises under this tone color. Open the 
throat well and do not use too much breath, thus you will 
avoid that irritation of the throat too often felt by speakers 
who do not understand the correct use of the tone-produc- 
ing organs. 

Examples for Practice : 

ASPIRATE. 

Low. 

[From — " Death of Little Jo."] 

(i I hear you, sir, in the dark \ but I'm gropin' — a-gropin ; 
— let me catch hold of your hand." 

Charles Dickens. 



i6 

" Hush 1 hark ! step softly ! All's hushed as midnight, yet. 
Make no noise. Be silent ! " 

Medium. 

[From — "The Gambler's Wife."] 

Hark ! Tis his footstep ! No ! 'Tis past — 'tis gone ! 

R. Coates. 

[From the Play — " Macbeth." ] 

Lady Macbeth. — 

To bed, to bed ! there's knocking at the gate : 
Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. 
What's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed ! 

Shakespeare. 

Loud. 

" Hark ! I hear the bugles of the enemy ! 
They are on their march ! For the boats ! 
Forward ! " 

[From — " Death-Bed of Benedict Arnold."] 

" Hush ! silence along the lines there ! — silence along 
the lines ! not a word — not a word, on peril of your lives ! 
Hark you, Montgomery ! we will meet in the center of the 
town : — we will meet there in victory, or die ! Hist ! si- 
lence my men — not a whisper, as we move up those steep 
rocks ! Now on, my boys — now on ! Men of the wilder- 
ness, we will gain the town ! Now up with the banner of 
the stars — up with the flag of freedom, though the night is 
dark, and the snow falls ! Nqw ! now, one more blow, and 

Quebec is ours !" 

George Leppard. 






17 

PLAINTIVE TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Plaintive Tone Color is a thin, weak semitone. 

REMARKS. 

The production of this tone color does not call into ex- 
ercise the full power of the respiratory or vocal organs, but 
differs in degree of use according to the intensity of the 
sentiment or emotion expressed. 

It is a frequent element in vocal expression and is a great 
additional help to impressive delivery. It is the natural, 
unstudied tone of sorrow or compassion, and appropriate to 
all expression appealing to human sympathy. When used 
with tremulous stress to express grief, sorrow, etc., the 
effect is greatly increased. 

RESEMBLANCE. 

This tone color resembles the gentle bleating of a lamb, 
the low whine of a dog, the soft7noaning of the wind, etc. 

RESONANCE. 

The resonance is in the forward part of the mouth cavity. 

WHEN USED. 

Plaintive Tone Color is used in the expression of plead- 
ing, entreaty t supplication, contrition, tenderness, compassion, 
fatigue, coaxing, ivhining, moaning, wheedling, hypocrisy, 
pity, pain, grief, sorrow, etc. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Narrow the mouth cavity to reduce the size of the reso- 
nance hall, and prolong the word oh! in a thin, weak ton,e, 
rather high in pitch and with subdued force. 



i8 

Examples for Practice: 

PLAINTIVE. 
Z,ow. 

[From — "The Young Gray Head."] 

" Who says I forgot? 
Mother, indeed, indeed I kept fast hold, 
And tied the shawl quite close, — she can 7 be cold ; 
But she won't move — we slept, I don't know how, 
But I held on, and Pm so weary now, 
And if s so dark and cold! Oh dear! oh dear I — 
And she won't move — if father were but here! 11 
All night long from side to side she turned, 
Piteously plaining like a wounded dove, 
With now and then the murmur, "She won't move. 11 

Caroline A. Southey. 

Medium. 

[From — " Give Me Three Grains of Corn, Mother."] 
" Give me three grains of corn, mother, 

Only three grains of corn ; 
It will keep the little life I have, 

Till the coming of the morn. 
I am dying of hunger and cold, mother, 

Dying of hunger and cold, 
And half the agony of such a death 

My lips have never told." 

Miss Edwards. 

[From the Tragedy — " Fazio."] 

Bianca. — Not all the night, not all the long, long night, 

Not come to me! not send to me! not think on me. 

Rev. H. H. Millman. 



19 

[From the Tragedy "King John."] 

Arthur. — Oh, save me Hubert, save me ! My eyes are out, 

Even with the fierce looks of these bloody men. 
Hubert. — Give me the iron, I say, and bind him here. 
Arthur. — Alas ! what ?ieed you be so boisterous rough ? 

I will not struggle, I will stand stone still. 

For Heaven 's sake Hubert, let me ?wt be bound ! 

Nay, hear me Hube?'t I Drive these men away, 

And I will sit as quiet as a lamb ; 

I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word. 

Nor look upo?i the irons angerly. 

Thrust but these men away, and Til forgive you, 

Whatever torment you do put me to. 

Shakespeare. 

Loud. 

\_From — " Mark Antony ' s Address to the Romans." — 
" Julius Oesar."] 

Mark Antony. — 

O, now you weep \ and I perceive, you feel 
The dint of pity : these are gracious drops. 
Kind souls, what, weep you, when you but behold 
Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here, 
Here is himself, marr'd as you see, with traitors. 

1 Cit. O piteous spectacle ! 

2 Cit. O noble Ccesar ! 

3 Cit. O vuoeful day ! 

Shakespeare. 

[" King David y s Lament." — 2 Sam. xviii : 33.'] 
And the king was much moved, and went up to the 
chamber over the gate, and wept ; and as he went thus he 
said, " O my son Absalom ! my son, my son Absalom ! 
would to God I had died for thee. O Absalom, my son, 
my son ?" 

From the Bible. 



[From the Drama — " Our Bitterest Foe."] 
Henri to Blanche. 
Henri. — A few weeks back I was left upon the field, 
wounded and helpless; my brother lay a corpse some 
twenty yards away; upon my right my dearest friend 
moaning for water that I could not give. Throughout that 
dreadful night I thought of you, and, God knows how bit- 
terly, of all my faults, and then the morning broke, and 
then, as the hot sun streamed upon the faces of the cold, 
gray dead, a bird sang high in the heavens above, and all 
his song was love and hope and Blanche — and as I fainted 
into what seemed death, a face bent o'er me, blessing me. 
It was the face of Blanche. And now, weak, weary, con- 
quered, I have come to kneel down humbly at your feet, 
and say, forgive me, Blanche — if you can still forgive. 

G. C. Herbert, Esq. 

OROTUND TONE COLOR. 

^. DEFINITION. 

Orotund Tone Color is the natural tone deepened and 
rounded to its utmost volume. It must be round, full, rich 
and grand. In its perfection it is the grandest and most 
beautiful tone color of the human voice. 

REMARKS. 

Orotund is distinguished by a certain musical richness 
and roundness of tone rarely heard in untrained voices, 
and never in its highest excellence except by long and 
careful cultivation. Although possessed naturally by but 
very few, yet it may be cultivated and acquired in some 
degree by all with persevering practice. 

Practice upon this tone color is highly beneficial to 
health, and almost more than any other exercise imparts 
richness and power to the voice. 



RESEMBLANCE. 



The quality of the Orotund resembles the music of 
deep-toned bells, the grand to?ies of a church organ, the roar 
of the lion, the deep baying of the bloodhound, the rolling 
of thunder, etc. 



RESONANCE. 



The resonance is in the chest, with strong action of the 
abdominal muscles. 

WHEN USED. 

Orotund Tone Color is used in the expression of the 
highest and loftiest thoughts that animate the human mind : 
Sublimity, grandeur, dignity, reverence, devotion, love, ador- 
ation, inspiration, bold, lofty senti??ienls, etc. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Inhale a full, deep breath, draw up the vitals, expand the 
chest, depress the larynx, round the lips, and give out the 
sound of o in a full, round, deep tone. 

Note. — The sound of long d is the most beautiful sound in our lan- 
guage, and the orotund, or round tone, the most beautiful tone. 

Examples for Practice : 

ORPTUND. 

Low. 

[From — u Address to the Deity."] 
O thou eternal One ! Thou only God ! 
Being above all beings ! Mighty One ! 
Being whom we call — God ! 

Derzhaven. 

Roll on, old ocean, roll. Orig. 

\_From — " Apostrophe to the Ocean."] 
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll ! 

Lord Byron, 



Medium. 

\_From — "Address to the Sun."] 

O Thou that rollest above, round as the shield of' my 
fathers ! whence are thy beams, O Sun ! thy everlasting 
light ? Thou comest forth in thy awful beauty j the stars 
hide themselves in the sky; the moon, cold and pale, 
sinks in the western wave. But thou thyself movest above ! 

O ssi an. 

[Front— « The Bells."] 

Hear the tolling of the bells — 
Iron bells ! 
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels ! 
In the silence of the night, 
How we shiver with affright 
At the melancholy menace of their tone ! 
For every sound that floats 
From the rust within their throats 
Is a groan. 

Edgar Allen Poe. 

Z,oud. 

[From — " The Building of the Ship."] 

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State ! 
Sail on, O Union, strong and great ! 
We know what Master laid thy keel, 
What Workman wrought thy ribs of steel, 
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope, 
What anvils rang, what hammers beat, 
In what a forge and what a heat 
Were shaped the anchors of our hope ! 

Henry Wadsworlh Longfellow. 



[From — " The Bells of Shandon."] 
I've heard bells chiming 
Full many a clime in, 
Tolling sublime in cathedral shrine ; 
While at a glib rate 
Brass tongues would vibrate ; 
But all their music spoke naught like thine. 

Francis Mahoney. 

\_From — " Spartacus to the Gladiators at Capua."] 
Ye call me chief; and ye do well to call him chief who 
for twelve long years has met upon the arena every shape 
of man or beast the broad empire of Rome could furnish ; 
and who never yet lowered his arm. 

Elijah Kellogg, 

guttural tone color. 

DEFINITION". 

Guttural Tone Color is a harsh, rough, grating, rasping, 
rattling, discordant, throaty tone. 

REMARKS. 

It is generally the effect of the most evil and malignant 
feelings, and except to express these passions should be 
studiously avoided. A touch of this tone color is some- 
times heard in the voices of old men, and in the tones of 
those who habitually yield to their lower natures. It is the 
undisguised voice of vice, the animal in man. 

RESEMBLANCE. 

This tone color resembles the snarl and threatening 
growl of a dog, the hoarse call of the crow, the croak of 
the raven, the blatant tone of goats, etc. 



2 4 
RESONANCE. 



The resonance is in the throat ; it is produced by vibra- 
tions in the pharynx. 

WHEN USED. 

Guttural Tone Color is made use of in the expression of 
anger, scorn, contempt, hatred, intense rage, loathing, etc. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Practice on the prolonged sound of a, continuing the 
vibrations to the full extent of breath. In learning this 
tone color care must be taken not to irritate the throat by 
undue effort. Open the throat well, do not obstruct the 
air current in its outward passage, and there will be no 
rasping of the throat, if it is in a healthy condition. 



Examples for Practice : 
GUTTURAL. 

I say, scat ! scat ! Orig. 

[From — "The Raven."] 
Quoth the Raven : " Nevermore." 

E. A. Foe. 

[From— "The Crow."] 
€i Caw ! caw ! 
Haw ! haw ! 
No more storm ! 
It's warm — wa-rm ! 
And they've planted corn — 
Co-rn ! Co-rn !" 

Adeline D. T. Whitney. 



25 

\From the Tragedy — " King Richard the Third."] 

Richard. — That dogs bark at me as I halt by them. 

***** 

And, therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, 
To entertain these fair well-spoken days, 
I am determined to prove a villain, 
And hate the idle pleasures of these days. 

Shakespeare. 

\_From — " Marmion and Douglas. "J 

Marmion. — And if thou saidst, I am not peer 
To any lord in Scotland here, 
Lowland or Highland, far or near, 
Lord Angus, thou hast lied! 

Scott. 

[From — " The Seminole's Defiance."] 

" I loathe ye in my bosom, 
I scorn ye with mine eye, 
And I'll taunt ye with my latest breath, 
And fight ye till I die !" 

G. IV. Fatten. 

\_Fro?n the Drama — "Nick of the Woods."] 

Gibbenainosay to Ralph Stackpole. — " Ha ! then you 
saw it, too. Wretch ! did you behold the roof- tree blaze, 
crackle, crash, topple, and fall? Did you see the flashing 
axe descend? Did you see her warm, young blood gushing 
in living streams, flashing, bubbling, flowing around your 
feet? and did you stand by without one blow? Eternal 
curses blast ye for it ! Were you as solid as the rooted 
earth, hard as the massive rock, scorching as flame, or rag- 
ing as the sea — thus, thus would I seize you by the throat 



26 

and dash you down to hell / Ha, ha, ha 1 The cry is up 
and shouts aloud for vengeance ! Strike ! kill ! slay ! Blood ! 
blood ! No peace — no peace!" 

Miss L. H. Medina. 

PECTORAL TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Pectoral Tone Color is a low, hollow, husky, sepulchral 
tone. 

REMARKS. 

It has somewhat the sound of a low orotund blended 
with the aspirate and guttural tones. It is low in pitch and 
generally slow time. It is often the characteristic of voices 
weakened by dissipation. 

RESEMBLANCE. 

This tone color resembles the low, threatening growl of 
the lion, the subdued roaring of the gale, the whir of a saw- 
mill, etc. 

RESONANCE. 

The resonance is in the upper part of the chest with feeble 
action of the abdominal muscles. 

WHEN USED. 

Pectoral Tone Color is used to express awe, dread, des- 
pair, remorse, overwhelming horror, suppressed rage, and 
to depict ghastliness, ghostliness, or anything pertaining to 
the supernatural, etc. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Relax the muscles of the throat, waist, and abdomen, 
then give the sound of o, in a low, hollow, husky tone. 



27 

Examples for Practice ; 

PECTORAL. 

[From — " Tam O'Shanter."] 

Coffins stood round like open presses, 
And showed the dead in their last dresses. 

Robert Burns, 

[From — " Darkness."] 

I had a dream, which was not all a dream : 
The bright sun was extinguished ; and the stars 
Did wander darkling in the eternal space, 
Rayless and pathless ; and the icy earth 
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air. 

Byron. 

[From the Tragedy — " Macbeth."] 
Macbeth. — 

Methought I heard a voice cry, " Sleep no more 
Macbeth doth murder sleep — the innocent sleep — 
Sleep that knits up the ravel 1 d sleeve of care, 
The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, 
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, 
Chief nouris her in life ' s feast: — " 

Lady Macbeth : — What do you mean? 
Macbeth. — 

Still it cried, "sleep no more," to all the house : 
" Glamis hath murdered sleep; and therefore Gawdor 
Shall sleep no more — Macbeth shall sleep no more" 

Shakespeare. 



28 

[From the Play — " Hamlet."] 
Ghost. — 

I am thy father's spirit ; 

Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night ; 

And, for the day, confin'd to fast in fires, 

Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature, 

Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid 

To tell the secrets of my prison-house, 

I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word 

Would harrow up thy soul ; freeze thy young blood, 

Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres ; 

Thy knotted and combined locks to part, 

And each particular hair to stand on end, 

Like quills upon the fretful porcupine : 

But this eternal blazon must not be 

To ears of flesh and blood : — List, list, — Oh, list ! — 

If thou didst ever thy dear father love — 

Shakespeare. 

FALSETTO TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Falsetto Tone Color is a high-pitched, sharp, shrill, head- 
tone. 

REMARKS. 

It has a false or artificial ring, and ranges far above the 
natural compass of the voice. Now and then you meet a 
person who uses this tone habitually, women more often 
than men. 

RESEMBLANCE. 

The shrieking of engines, the whistling of the wind, the 
screeching of the owl. Inarticulate sounds like the cry, 
scream, yell and all shrill tones are various shades of the 
falsetto. 



2 9 

RESONANCE. 

The resonance is in the head. 

WHEN USED. 

Falsetto Tone Color is used to express f rights pain, ter- 
ror, excitement, irritability, scolding, etc., and in persona- 
tion, mimicry and burlesque. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Draw up the uvula into the veil of the palate, open the 
throat well, and cry out at the highest pitch of your voice, 
the exclamation, Oh! 

Examples for Practice ; 
FALSETTO. 

[From — "The Jiners."] 

" I s'pose that's what everybody thinks ; but if they 
knew what I've suffered in ten years, they'd wonder I 
hadn't scalded him long ago. I ought to, but for the sake 
of the young ones I've borne it and said nothing. I've 
told him, though, what he might depend on, and now the 
time's come ; I won't stand it, young ones or no young 
ones. I'll have a divorce, and if the neighbors want to 
blab themselves hoarse about it they can, for I won't 
stand it another day." 

Anon. 

[From — " The Green Mountain Justice."] 

Quoth Rachel, " What a pity 'tis 

To joke at such a time as this ! 

A man whose wife is being hung 

Should know enough to hold his tongue." 

Anon. 



3° 

" But, ma'am," the steward interfered, 

" The wessel must be cleared, 

You mustn't stay aboard, ma'am, no one don't ! 

It's quite ag'in the orders so to do, 

And all the passengers is gone but you." 

Says she, " I cannot go ashore and won't !" 

He—" You ought to !" 

She.—" But I can't !" 

He.— "You must!" 

She.—" I shan't." 

[From — " How We Hunted A Mouse."] 

" O Joshua ! a mouse, shoo — wah — shoo — a great — ya, 
shoo — horrid mouse, and she-ew — it ran right out of the 
cupboard — shoo — go way. Oh, mercy ! — Joshua — shoo — 
kill it, oh, my — shoo !" Joshua Jenkins. 

Note. — The pupil having mastered the Standard Tone Colors can 
now proceed to the study of the Objectionable Tone Colors. 



(Objectionable (Lorn 
Colors, 

The Objectionable Tone Colors are : — 

Nasal, Catarral, Oral, Mincing and Piping. 

Objectionable Tone Colors should be used only in per- 
sonation, mimicry and burlesque. 

Otherwise used they are faulty and defective, and most 
certainly objectionable. The habitual use of these faulty 
tones should be strictly avoided by those who have them not, 
and diligently overcome by those who have them. 

Used understanding^ they will not harm the voice but 
act rather as a cure-all for faulty tones, and incline to render 
the natural voice more flexible and the natural talents more 
versatile. 

To have all these Tone Colors at command is much to be 
desired by the impersonator, humorist, reader and actor. 

NASAL TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Nasal Tone Color is a harsh, twangy, unpleasant tone. 

REMARKS. 

This faulty tone of voice is common and the pupil is 
cautioned against its habitual use. Many persons uncon- 
sciously fall into the habit of speaking in a more or less 
nasal tone, and it is well to understand the characteristics 
of this tone color that you may learn how to avoid its use 
when improper, as well as to have it at your command when 
personation requires. 

RESEMBLANCE. 

It resembles the " honk" of the wild goose. 



32 



RESONANCE. 



Nasal Tone Color has its resonance in the nasal chamber 
and the sound is emitted through the nasal passages. 

Note. In sounding the nasal consonants, m, n and ng, the vibrat- 
ing column of air that produces them is forced to pass outward through 
the nose, in sounding ;/z, the lips are completely closed. All the con- 
sonants except the nasals should be uttered with the nasal chamber 
closed. In uttering the vowel sounds the nasal chamber is more or 
less shut off from the pharynx by means of the uvula and air current 
emitted almost solely through the mouth. It is practically impossible 
to utter the vowel sounds with the mouth closed, but they can be 
purely sounded without any air passing through the nose, while it is 
also impossible to sound them purely if the air is allowed to escape 
freely through the nose. 

Let the pupil demonstrate this truth; first by giving the vowel sounds 
while holding the nose, also while directing the current of air up into 
the nasal chamber and out through the nose. 

It will be readily seen that in a pure clear tone of voice the expired 
air passes out chiefly through the mouth, while too much speaking 
" through the nose " causes the nasal tone. 



HOW ACQUIRED. 

Give the nasals m, n and ng, prolonging the vibrations. 
Direct the current of air up into the nasal chamber, giving 
out a nasal murmur. Place the tip of the forefinger be- 
tween the eyebrows until you can feel the vibrations. 

Drop the lower jaw and prolong the syllable ong. 

Note. Sufficient practice on these exercises will make the voice 
more sonorous. 



Examples for Practice ; 

NASAL. 
[From — « The Courtin."] 

God makes sech nights, all white and still 

Fur'z you can look or listen, 
Moonshine an' snow on field an' hill, 

All silence an' all glisten. 

James Russell Lowell. 



33 

[From "Widow Bedott Papers."] 

If I'd such a husband as Bill Jinkins was I'd hold my 
tongue about my neighbors' husbands. He was a dretful 
mean man, used to git drunk every day of his life, an' he 
had an awful high temper, — an' I've heard my husband 
say (an' he wa'n't a man that ever said anything that wa'n't 
true), I've heard him say Bill Jinkins would cheat his own 
father out of his eye teeth if he had a chance. 

F. M. Whitcher. 

[From — " Darius Green and his Flying Machine."] 

" Doos the little chatterin,' sassy wren, 

No bigger'n my thumb, know more than men? 

Jest show me that ! 

Ur prove the bat 
Haz got more brains than's in my hat, 
And I'll back down, an' not till then ! " 
He argued further : " Nur I can't see 
What's th' use o' wings to a bumble-bee, 
For to git a livin' with, more'n to me ; — 

Ain't my business 

Important's his'n is?" 

y. T. Trowbridge. 

[From — " The One Horse Shay." ] 

But the deacon swore, (as deacons do), 

With an " I dew vum" or an " / tell yeou" 

He would build one shay to beat the taown 

W the keounly V all the ken try araourC ; 

It should be so built that it could* n* break daown — 

" Fur," said the deacon, " 'T's mighty plain 

That the weakes 1 place mus 1 start the strain ; 



34 

W the way f fix it, uz I maintain 

Is only jest 
T 7 ' make that uz strong uz the rest. 11 

Oliver Wendell Holmes. 



CATARRHAL TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Catarrhal Tone Color is a cloudy, husky, obstructed, dis- 
agreeable tone. 

REMARKS. 

It is usually caused by disease or some mal-formation of 
the organs of speech. The nasal chamber is unhealthy, the 
nasal passages obstructed, so that little or no air passes 
through them. This prevents the sounding of the nasal 
elements, and the nasals m, n and ng are thus changed to 
b, d, and g. 

Catarrhal Tone is often confounded with Nasal Tone, 
hence arises that diversity of opinion as to the truth of the 
nasal tone being caused, as is commonly said, by speaking 
" through the nose." 

One is exactly the reverse of the other ; in Catarrhal 
Tone little or no air is allowed to escape through the nose, 
while in Nasal Tone the current of air is directed into the 
nasal chamber and passes out through the nose. 

RESEMBLANCE. 

Catarrhal Tone Color is that tone of voice used by a per- 
son having a severe head cold, or afflicted by catarrh. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Contract the nostrils so as to obstruct the air current, 
then talk or read. In learning close the nostrils by means 
of the thumb and forefinger. 



35 

Examples for Practice : 
CATARRHAL. 

\_From — " A Ker Chew Duet."] 

" Susad" he begm again, grasping her hand with fervor, 
and clutching his handkerchief with equal earnestness, 
" what is libe without love? Dothing. Darltg, do you, cad 
you love be e dough to be by — ah-ah-ooh-cheiv! You'll be 
bide, all bide ?" he gasped. " 1 will y Hedry, I will" she 
hoarsely whispered. 

Anon. 

[From — " Lides to Bary Jade."] 
" The bood is beabing brightly love, 
The sdars are shidig too ; 
While I ab gazig dreabily 

Add thinkig, love, of you ; 
You caddot, oh, you caddot kdow, 

By darlig, how I biss you — 
(Oh, whadt a fearful cold I've got) 
Ck-tish-u ! Ck-ck-tish-u ! " 

Scrib ner' s Mo n th h ■ . 

ORAL TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Oral tone color is a thick, indistinct mouthing tone. 

REMARKS. 

This is a faulty tone often heard, but it is not as com- 
mon as the nasal. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Round the lips, narrow the mouth cavity, thicken up the 
tongue and mouth your words. 



36 

Examples for Practice ; 

ORAL. 

\_From — " Lord Dundreary at Brighton."] 

Now I weckomember, I made thuch a jolly widdle the 
other day on the Ethplanade. I thaw a fellah with a big 
New- Newfoundland dog, and he inthpired me — the dog, 
you know, not the fellah, he wath a lunatic. 

I'm keeping the widdle, but I don't mind telling you. 

Why does a dog waggle hith tail ? 

Give it up? I think motht fellahs will give that up. * 

You thee, the dog waggles hith tail becauth the dog's 
stwonger than the tail, if he wathn't, the tail would waggle 
the dog. 

[From — "A Racy Stump Speech."] 

Loud. 

Feller-citizens and the wimmin : I repeat it, and from the 
top-most peak of the Ozark Mountains bid defiance to the 
hull earth, by hollerin' " Who's afeard," in such thunderin' 
tones, that quakin' with fear, you'll forget what danger is. 

Don your rusty regimentals, and wipe the flints of your 
old guns ; beat up your scythes and make swords of 
them, put on your huntin' shirts, mount your hosses, and 
" save the nation, or bust." 

Anon. 

MINCING TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Mincing Tone Color is a tone of cultivated affectation 
characterized by primness and artificial nicety. It is too 
often adopted by wish-to-be-thought cultured people and 
the would-be aesthetic. 



37 
REMARKS. 

Not a few of the so-called "gentler sex" and alas, some 
of the should be " sterner sex " entertain the foolish idea 
that to speak in a clear, full tone of voice is uncultured or 
unaesthetic ; and mince out their words in a soft artificial 
tone that instead of being pleasing to the ear is trying to the 
nerves, sounds silly and affected, and creates an unfavor- 
able impression upon the mind of common-sense hearers. 

HOW ACQUIRED. 

Draw in the corners of the lips and speak in a soft sub- 
dued tone of voice, with affected nicety, giving undue em- 
phasis to consonant sounds and not sufficient force to vow- 
el sounds. 



Examples for Practice: 

MINCING. 

[From "Too Utterly Utter."] 

"Oh ! no, pa; you don't understand me," the daughter 
explained ; " I mean this horse and wagon. Do you think 
they are soulful? — do you think they could be studied 
apart in the light of a symphony, or even a single poem 
and appear as intensely utter to one on returning home as 
one could wish?" 

Albany Chro?iicle. 

[From — " Awfully Lovely Philosophy."] 

Brooklyn girl. — " Tell me about protoplasm. I know I 
should adore it." 

Boston girl. — " 'Deed you would. It's just too sweet to 
live. You know it's about how things get started, or some- 



38 

thing of that kind. You ought to hear Mr. Emerson talk 
about it. It would stir your very soul. The first time he 
explained about protoplasm there wasn't a dry eye in the 
house. We named our hats after him. This is an Emer- 
son hat. You see the ribbon is drawn over the crown and 
caught with a buckle and a bunch of flowers. Then you 
turn up the side with a spray of forget-me-nots. Ain't it 
just too sweet? All the girls in the school have them." 

Anon. 

[From — " A Railway Matinee."] 

" You misunderstand him," interrupted the precise woman. 

" He was probably about to remark that no reference 
whatever had been intentionally made to the departure of 
any person from the train, when you interrupted him in 
the midst of an unfinished sentence, and hence obtained 
an erroneous impression of the tenor of his remarks." 

R. /. Burdette. 



PIPING TONE COLOR. 

DEFINITION. 

Piping Tone Color is a thin, peculiar, undeveloped tone, 
inclined to be rather high in pitch. 

REMARKS. 

This tone color has a half-grown, misplaced sound, as if 
the tone were squeezed or unformed. It is noticable be- 
cause of its pecularity and unexpectedness. For instance, 
some men's voices sound like boys' or women's tones. 



39 
Example for Practice : 

PIPING. 

[From — " The Pied Piper of Hamelin."] 

Pied Piper. — 

" Please your honors," said he " I'm able, 
By means of a secret charm, to draw 
All creatures living beneath the sun, 
That creep, or swim, or fly, or run, 
After me so as you never saw ! 
And I chiefly use my charm 
On creatures that do people harm, 
The mole, the toad, the newt, the viper ; 

And people call me the Pied Piper. 

********* 

And as for what your brain bewilders, 
If I can rid your town of rats 
Will you give me a thousand guilders ? 

Robert Browning. 



NOV 17 



GUSTINE-COOTS, 
ORATORY, DRAMATIC ART, 

23 ANDREW STREET, 
SALEM, - MASS. 



